Yamauchi bought the Seattle Mariners major league baseball team in 1992 when the franchise was struggling, although it was later taken over by Nintendo of America Inc.

He was ranked 13th on the latest Forbes Japan list released this year, with an estimated net worth of $US2.1 billion.

Yamauchi's death comes just two days after Eiji Toyoda, a member of Toyota's founding family who oversaw the automaker's global ascent and helped drive a revolutionary production process, died at the age of 100.